A former Australian great has put the nation’s batting coach firmly in the crosshairs ahead of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney.
Meanwhile, an English icon has offered his retirement advice to Usman Khawaja. Plus, why an emerging Englishman believes he has “a lot more to do” despite promising signs.
Watch The Ashes 2025/26 LIVE and ad-break free during play with FOX CRICKET on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
‘NOT A FAN OF HIM’: AUSSIE GREAT CALLS OUT COACH
Matthew Hayden has put the heat on Australian batting coach Michael Di Venuto in light of the side’s struggles at the top of the order.
The likes of Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green in particular need to find some form in the fifth and final Ashes Test, with former opener Hayden also boldly claiming Australia’s bowlers look “more technically sound than our batters”.
“The faceless men in this cricket team is always an issue,” Hayden began on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast.
“Michael Di Venuto has been there for at least five years … we need some generationally different voices that sit in that mentality of how you play.
“I’m not a fan of him. It’s not a personal thing, I just think, for too long, there has been an influence in this group around batting, and I don’t feel it’s served either the development of the team or the technical element of Test match cricket.
“And it’s not just on green wickets — it’s also in countries like the subcontinent, where we’ve been competitive but ultimately haven’t had the skill sets required to really cope in those conditions.”
Hayden said that while he liked Di Venuto — who has been in the role since mid-2021 — he felt there “has to be some change” for improvement to be seen.
“I don’t want to be sitting here on this podcast in two years going, ‘Well we’ve still got all these technical difficulties’,” Hayden continued.
“At some point, you have to take accountability, and that’s the piece I really struggle with the most.
“It’s like, ‘Yep, it’s green, therefore we’re going to play a certain way’. Or, ‘It’s spinning’, I remember in Delhi a couple of series ago, every player was sweeping on a wicket that wasn’t turning an inch.”
‘DON’T LET THEM DECIDE’: VAUGHAN’S ADVICE TO UZZIE
Former English captain and Fox Cricket analyst Michael Vaughan has urged Australian veteran Usman Khawaja to retire on his own terms amid rumblings ahead of the fifth Test at the SCG — where he debuted 15 years ago.
The 39-year-old opener has been tight-lipped about his Test future, but it appears increasingly likely that this week’s New Year’s Ashes contest in Sydney will be his final appearance in Australian colours.
Vaughan said Khawaja, who has had lean recent returns in the Test arena, deserved to decide his own destiny but warned of the “risk” if he didn’t do so.
“I would say to Usman, ‘Don’t let them decide. You decide your destiny’,” Vaughan said, via the Sydney Morning Herald.
“When someone has been playing for so long, we’ve just got to let them decide. Usman has had an incredible career, and not many get the chance to say goodbye on their own terms at their own venue.
“If he doesn’t do that, he runs the risk of his career ending not on his own terms. I can’t think of a better way to say goodbye than at his home ground in an Ashes series.”
Khawaja has played 87 Tests since his debut, with a full-circle Sydney swansong fitting in prospect given he began his domestic career at New South Wales before migrating to Queensland in 2012.
RELATED: Mystery surrounds Khawaja swan song after coach’s telling answer to retirement question
‘A LOT MORE TO DO’ FOR EMERGING ENGLISHMAN
Jacob Bethell is keen to lock down the number three spot for England, but admitted Tuesday he has “a lot more to do” to make the position his own.
The 22-year-old was recalled for the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne to replace the under-performing Ollie Pope and impressed.
He hit a gritty 40 in difficult batting conditions in the second innings to help steer England to a four-wicket victory and their first win in Australia since 2011.
Bethell is likely to get another opportunity in the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney starting Sunday.
“I like three,” he told English media in Melbourne.
“You come in when the ball is new and in some scenarios the ball’s going all over the shop.
“But in other scenarios it presents opportunities to score when bowlers are trying to take wickets and the field is attacking, there’s loads of gaps.
“I’ve still got a lot more to do to call it my position,” he added. “I would like to (make the spot his own). I would like to just nail down any role in the team.” Bethell made his Test debut against New Zealand in Christchurch a year ago, crunching half-centuries in each of three Tests during the series after Pope slid down the order as wicketkeeper.
His progress was then hampered by an injury and Pope hitting form back at three. While Bethell has no guarantee of retaining his place for an extended period, skipper Ben Stokes was full of praise after Melbourne.
“He got an unplayable delivery in the first innings,” said Stokes, when Bethell nicked Michael Neser to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
“So then to go out there and play the way that he did there, I think shows a lot about his character and the confidence that he has within himself.
“So yes, something for Beth to be able to build on, definitely.”
— with AFP
Discussion about this post